Olathe, Kan. - Led by head coach Bob Hallberg, the Saint Xavier University women's basketball team has moved up another notch in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) ratings this week earning the No. 3 spot nationally when the poll was released by the national office in Olathe, Kan., Wednesday afternoon. No team in the history of Saint Xavier University Athletics has boasted a national ranking among the top three spots. The Cougars were ranked No. 4 in last week's NAIA poll.

"This is a very special honor to our program, because to my knowledge, it is unprecedented," said Hallberg. "It is always nice to be recognized as one of the top NAIA programs in the ratings, because you know that it is the other coaches around the nation that are voting for your team. It has not been an easy road getting to this point and the challenge lies in trying to maintain such a high rank."

Saint Xavier (15-2 overall/0-1 CCAC) faces conference foe Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) on Saturday, January 13, at the Shannon Center in Chicago. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.